For years HRBP’s have been urged to know the business. To understand the numbers and the levers that create the competitive advantage for the business they work in. Most competency frame works will place this high in the priorities. But my view is that having business knowledge is just a point of parity for HRBP’s today, The point of differentiation is applying the knowledge to make a strategic difference.

This is a different skill and one that requires a flexible way of thinking. For example knowing the key business numbers only tells you the historical facts. What the business made last week or month. It does not tell you whether that activity was good or bad. How it compared to the competition or even if it moved the business closer to achieving its goals.
To be useful you need to understand the levers or dynamics across the business. What a change in one area does to another. What is the key thing to get right to move the business goals forward. What is the competition doing and how is it impacting on the business. What do customers want, how are their needs changing and how is the business anticipating customer needs.

If you know and understand this and can even anticipate some of the changes you can add strategic value. You will be able to tailor HR interventions to assist the business meet goals. Prioritise what you do to support the most important levers and make proactive suggestions. This requires flexible thinking.

Most HRBP’s who are good strategic thinkers have the following traits:

• Curiosity


• Flexibility


• Future focus


• Positive outlook


• Openness to new ideas


• Breadth of knowledge and interests

In addition, they are skilled at adopting different types of thinking and able to use different approaches as the situation demands. These include:

Consider which of these skills you tend to use the most frequently at work. How can you increase the range of skills you use? See the suggestions below:

Critical thinking

• Make lists of pros and cons for each idea/suggestion


• Use SWOT analysis


• Ask others how they see the idea/issue


• Challenge paradigms or assumptions about what is possible


• Play with creating “what if” scenarios


• Engage in best case/worst case planning

Conceptual thinking

• Use mind maps


• Use the “Onion Thinking” tool to consider all the possible connections and links


• Speak to customers and others in the industry and collect a wide range of views


• Keep notes about the business and the connections between events, issues and external changes


• Develop model about how the business/change works

Creative thinking

• Increase your understanding of the creative process


• Give yourself time to relax whilst placing the issue/idea “on the back burner”


• Ensure you are widely read not just in your field but also in a range of areas


• Keep a notebook of ideas and insights about the business. Refer to it regularly

• Tune into your body and notice the signals it sends


• Investigate the ways in which your intuition communicates with you


• Keep a journal of your insights and the results


• Allow yourself time and space for your intuition to communicate


• When something is worrying you or you are unclear about a course of action ask for assistance from your intuition. The response may not be immediate, so be alert to the signals